Air circulating means for refrigerator cars



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. F. OCONNOR AIR CIRCULATING MEANS FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed DBG. 13, 1943 oct. 2, .1945.

Oct. 2, 1945. A. F. o'coNNoR VAIR CIRCULATING MEANS FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Dec 13, 1943 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 6 ,A f f A f /N//l/ l/ ll /l l l/ Il,

,----....---- I i v Ott. 2, 1-945. ,A. F. ocoNNoR 2,386,002

f l AIR cmcuLATmG MEANS FOR REFRIGERATOR cARs Filed Dec. 13, 194s s sheets-sheet 3 Patented Oct. 2, 1945 am cracmmo. MEANS ron nararosaa'ron cans Arthur F. OOonnor, Chicago, lll.; assigner to UnionAsbestos & Rubber Company, a'corpora- K tion ot Iliinois application December 1s, 94s, semina. 514,025 f Y# (on sa-24) Y Claims.

This invention relates to air circulating means for refrigerator cars and more particularly to an arrangement of air circulating fans in a car to circulate air through the lading and ice com'- partments thereof.

It has heretofore been proposed to circulate air through cars by providing air circulating fans or blowers carried by the bulkhead which separates the lading and ice compartments. When movable bulkheads are employed the mounting of the air circulating means on the-bulkhead and the drive connections thereto seriously complicates the construction. Also themountlng of th air circulating fans or blowers on the bulkhead makes it substantially impossible to maintain an unobstructed duct through the bulkhead. It is accordingly one of the objects of the present invention to provide an arrangement of circulating fans in the car independent of the bulkhead and yet which will create an eilective circulation through the car. I

It has alsov been proposed to mount blowers on the oor of the car and to drive themby a common shaft extending transversely acrossthe car. In a structure of this type it is extremely difllcult to maintain the shaft bearings aligned and the blowers further obstruct the free flow of air by gravity when they are not in operation. It is another object of the present invention to provide a series of air circulating fans in a car which do not requirei a cross shaft drive and nection with the accompanying drawings, in

which- 'Figure l is a partial horizontal section through` a refrigerator car embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a.v partial transverse section on the line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a partial section on the line 3 3 of Figure 2; i I i Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a partial perspective view: and y Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 of an alternative construction.

The invention is illustrated as mounted in a more or less conventional refrigerator car having insulated side walls I0, insulated end walls II and an insulated floor l2 supported on beams Il. The interior space of the car is divided into which present a minimum obstruction to gravity l circulation when they are not in operation. The 1 latter object is preferably accomplished by pro,,

viding straightfline circulation through the fans and fan housings. i

It is another object to provide fail mechanism so mounted as not to interfere with cleaning of the lading and ice compartment iloors.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a series of fans aligned with the natural channels formed by the floor beams of the lading floor to insure an even distribution of circulating air throughout the car. Y 1

A further object of the invention is to provide a series of fans for circulating air through. the car having means to close the spaces between the fans during operation to eliminate eddy currents and to open such spa'ces when the ians are not in operation to insure maximum gravity circulation.

a lading compartment I4 and an ice bunker compartment I Iby a vertical bulkhead I6. The bulkhead as shown is hollow with an opening I1 at its lower end through which air may circulate vertically in the bulkhead. Preferably the bulkhead is also movably mounted in the car to move from the extended position shown to a retracted position adjacent the end wall of the car as more particularly disclosed in the patent to Lundvall ARe. N0. 22,271. f

The bulkhead rests on a transverse supporting beam I8 supported above the door of the car by spaced brackets I9. The ice bunker compartment is provided with a floor grating 2|.flush with the upper surfac` of the beam I8 and formed by spaced bars between which air may circulate over the ice in the bunker, Preferably, the end on the ice bunker has screens 22 spaced from the The above and other objects and advantages A car walls to provide air circulation channels in termediate the ice and the end\walls II. It will be understood that the bulkhead` I6 terminates short of the top of the car to leaving; space for air circulation. I

` In the lading compartment of the car a plurality of longitudinally extending floor beams 23 areprovidedspaced transverselyof the carto leave channels between them. A lading supporting grating formedby cross bars or slats 24 overlies the beamsl 23 and terminates substantially ilush with theupper surface of the beam I8 and"y the ice grating floor 2|. 'I'he bars or gratings 24 are spaced apart as shown to provide spaces between them for air circulation.

Air is caused to circulate through the car by a series of fans 25 mounted beneath the beam Iiil and independently supported on brackets 26 fastened to the floor of the car. Accdrding to one feature ofthe invention the fans are aligned with the channels between the adjacent floor beams 2l so that each fan tends to circulate air through its associated channel thereby insuring a substantially even distribution of air throughout the entire car. If desired, screens 21 may be connected over the ends of the beams to' screen any t foreign particles from the air prior to its passage motor'to the pump or to a supply reservoir to.

which the pump inlet is connected. Themotor 29 drives a pulley 32 which is connected by a flexible belt "to a double pulley 34 on the shaft of the first fan 25. The first vfan 25 is connected to the second fan in series by a similar flexible belt 35 engaging the pulley 34 on the 'rst fan and a similar double pulley 36 on the next adjacent fan. In like manner, the several fans of the entire series are yinterconnected together and to the motor 29 so that when the motor is operating all of the fans will operate in unison.

The pulleys and belts are preferably located adjacent but slightly beyond one edge of the beam I8 as seen in Figures l and 3. Access to the pulleys and belts for adjustment and repair is provided by a cover 31 hinged at one edge to .the beam I8 and which can be raised to provide access to the pulleys and belts from the lading compartment of the car. In this way, any necessary repairs or adjustments can easily be made without requiring any dismantling of the car.

'I'he several fans are preferably enclosed by hoods or covers I8. As shown the hoods are secured to the floor of the car and enclose the fans to provide straight channels in which the fans operate so that their emciency is increased. The space between the several fans and around the covers 38 is adapted to lbe closed by a pivoted vane 39 hinged at its upper edge on the beam I8. 'Thev vane is cut out as best seen in Figure to .fit closely around the hoods 3l so that when the vane is in its closed position the space between the hoods will be tightly closed to prevent any air circulation therethrough. It will be understood that one vane extending substantially the full length of the beam could be provided but preferably there are a series of vanes each operating between adjacent supporting brackets I9 and interconnected for simultaneous operation.

The vanes are normally moved to an open or inoperative position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4 and are adapted to be'moved to closed v asaaoos supplied by the pump 28 through pipes 45 connected to the rear ends ofthe cylinders. When the pump 28 is operating, iuid pressure acting on the pistons moves them against' the springs 45 to rock the vanes counter-clockwise, as seen in Fig ure 4, to their closed position.

In opertion when the car is in movement the.

pump 2liy will supply pressure to close the vanes and to operate the motor 29. At this time the fans will be driven and they are preferably operated in a direction to circulate air in the direction of the arrows in Figure 3 along the channels betweenthe .beams 23 toward the` ice bunker. The air is forced up through and around the ice in the .bunker and through the channels provided by the screens 22 as well as through the hollowy bulkhead. The air thus becomes cooled by contact with the ice and with the cold surfaces oi' the bunker and passes over the top of the bunker into the lading space of the car. As the cold air settles through the lading space it passes around and through the lading and through the grating 24 to be re-circulated by the fans.

When the car is stationary the pump 28 stops so that the. motor 29 also stops. Pressure acting on the cylinders 4I is relieved and .the springs 45 move the vanes 3i!A to their open position. At this time cold air will circulate by gravity downwardly through the ice bunker and past the vanes 39 as well as through the hoods 38 around the fans into the lower part of the lading compartment. It will be noted that a minimum obstruction to this gravity circulation is provided b'oth because the vanes 39 are opened and also because through channels are left around the fans.

Figure 6 illustrates an alternative construction, parts therein corresponding to like parts in Fig ures 1 to 5 being indicated by the same reference numerals. Inl this construction, each of the fans 25 is provided with an individual driving motor 5I supplied with iluid through pipes 52. Instead of being supported on the floor of the car, in this case the fans and turbines are carried by brackets 53 suspended from the beam I8 and the fans position when the fans are in operation. For this purpose cylinders 4I are provided mounted between the legs of supporting brackets I9. Each of the cylinders has a piston slidable therein whose piston rod 42 carries a cross pin 43 at its I outer end connected by links 44 to the adjacent vanes on each side or the supporting bracket.

'I'he pistons are normally held in retracted posiare enclosed by hoods or covers 54 similarly Isuspended from the beam 1I8. In this way, the floor of the caris left clear so that any liquid or dirt accumulating on the floor does not get into the fan mechanism. The spaces between the hoods 54 may be controlled by vanes operated by the cylinders 4I in the same manner as described above, the vanes being properly shaped to clear the hoods during movement.

By the present invention the entire fan mechanism including both the fans themselves and the driving means therefor is located beneath the bulkhead 'supporting beam and out of the lading and bunker portions of the car. The lading and bunker portions require frequent cleaning and with the apparatus located beneath the beam the racks in the lading and bunker compartments can be removed and the floors can readily be cleaned without interference. Further this location prevents any damage -to the fan mechanism during cleaning.

The arrangement of the fans .and fan housings to provide straight line ow of the' air creates a minimumof interference with air circulated through the car at all times..

The arrangement shown in Figure 6 in which the fans and fan housings are spaced above the car iloor insures that moisture or other foreign material collecting on the floor will be kept out of the fans and the fan driving mechanism. Since brine commonly occurs in cars of this character scope of the invention.

a,'see,ooa 3 and is highly corrosive, this construction presents particular advantages in certain types of installations. p

It will be understood that the driving mechanism shown employing a hydraulic pump and motors is illustrative only and might be replaced by various other types of drives. Additional changes might also be made as will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it will therefore be understood that the particular embodiments shown are illustrative only, reference being had `to the appended claims to determine the therefor, closure venes movably mounted on the beam to close the space between the covers, and control means for the closure vanes to movethe closure vanes to a position to close the space between the covers when the fans arein operation.

5. In a refrigerator car having a bulkhead dividing it into a lading compartment and an ice compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam underlying and'v supporting the bulkhead and spaced above the floor of the car, a series of fans in the space between the beam and the oor of the car, drive means for the fans adjacent one edge of the beam, and a cover plate pivoted to said one edge of the beam and adapted to be raised to permit access to said drive means from the interior of the car.

6. In a. refrigerator car having a bulkhead dividing itinto a lading compartment and an ice floor of the car, a series of fans mounted between the beam and the floor of the car to circulatev air through the lading and ice compartments. movable vane means adjacent the fans normally held in a positio-n to open the space between the fans 4and movable to a position to close the space between the fans, and means operable when the fans are in operation to move the vane means to the last named position.

2. In a refrigerator car having av bulkhead dividing the car into a lading compartment and an ice compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam extending transversely across the car adjacent the bulkhead and spaced above the floor of the car, a series of fans mounted between the beam and the floor of the car to `circulate air through the lading and ice compartments, movable vane means adjacent the fans normally held in a position 4to open the space between the fans and movable to a position to close the space between the fans, power means to drive the fans, and control means for the vane means to move the vane means to the last named position when the power means is energized.

3. In a refrigerator car having a bulkhead dividing the car into a lading compartment and an ice compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam extending transverselyacross the car adjacent thebulkhead and spaced above the floor of the car, a series of fans mounted between the beam and thevfloor of the car to circulate air through thelading and ice compartments, open ended covers around the fans forming air channels through Which the fans circulate air, movable vane means pivoted o'n the beam and shaped l to fit around the covers to close the space therebetween and movable to a position to open the space between the covers, and control means for the vane means to move the vane means to a position to close the space around the `covers when the fans are in operation.

4. In a refrigerator car having a bulkhead dlviding the car into a lading compartment and an ice. compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam extending transversely across the car adjacent the bulkhead and spaced a'bove the floor of the car, a series of fans mounted between the beam and the floor of the car to circulate air ythrough the lading and ice compartments, open ended covers secured to thev beam with their lower parts spaced above the floor of the car, and fittinggaround the fans to form air channels compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam underlying and supporting the bulkhead and spaced above the door of the car, a s eries 'f of fans in the space between the beam and the floor of the car, fluid operated means to drive the fans, a vane pivoted to the beam to close the space between .the fans, and pressure responsive means connected to the fluid operated means to control the vane.

7. In a refrigerator car having a series of longitudinally extending beams along its floor and lading supporting members carried by the beams and spaced apart for air circulation, air circulating means comprising a series of fans mounted adjacent the car floor in alignment with the spaces between adjacent beams respectively and adjacent one end of the beams, said fans operating to circulate air through the car and through the channels formed by the beams to provide a substantially even distribution of air through the car.

8. In a refrigerator car having a bulkhead dividing it into a lading compartment and an ice compartment, air circulating means comprising f a beam underlying and supporting the` bulkhead and spaced above the floor of the car, fan mounting means carried by the beam extending down threfrom and terminatingabove the floor of the car, and fans carried by" the mounting means l therefrom and terminating above the oor of the car, fans carried by the mounting means spaced above the floor of the car, a fan driving motor i carried by the beam spaced above the door of the car, and driving means connecting the motor to the fans.

10. In a refrigerator car having a bulkhead dividing it into .a lading compartment and an ice compartment, air circulating means comprising a beam underlying and supporting the bulkhead and spaced above the floor of the car, fan mounting means carried by the beam extending down therefrom and terminating above the floor of the car, fans carried by the mounting means spaced above the floor of the car, and open ended covers around the fans secured to the beam and termi. nating above the door of the car.

ARTHUR F. OCONNOR. 

